Businesses with interests outside of mainland UK have been warned to ensure that their terrorism coverage extends to the territories they operate in, as government-backed insurer Pool Re will not cover them.
“Pool Re only extends to mainland UK. It does not include Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, or anything overseas, including Gibraltar,” Geoff Stilwell, managing director of specialist firm
Beech Underwriting Agencies, told
Insurance Business.
Whether it be a business or property, clients with interests outside of the mainland must be aware that they will not be covered if they are insured with Pool Re – but some are operating under false impressions, the MD warned.
“If you have, for example, a manufacturing business with a branch overseas, say somewhere in Europe, Pool Re will not extend cover to those countries,” Stilwell said. “That’s very important for people to understand.”
From manufacturers to hauliers and hoteliers, if your business has arms abroad, your coverage must match accordingly. That’s potentially troubling news for UK businesses: a recent report found that many
UK-based multinationals are eyeing growth abroad, particularly in the light of Brexit, and a significant 63% of leaders identified Europe as the market with the strongest growth potential.
Alongside clients themselves, it’s vital that brokers understand the needs of their clients with interests outside of mainland UK, Stilwell said – and not everyone is up to speed on what can and cannot be covered.
“In a nutshell, any broker who has a client that manufactures, exports, or has a distribution unit overseas, or has property, needs to know that if they need terrorism cover, they cannot buy that coverage through Pool Re – it has to be done through someone like us,” the MD explained.
“We are the market leader out there, and we are the leading provider of terrorism cover in the Channel Islands and Gibraltar,” Stilwell said of Beech Underwriting.
Stilwell has also been vocal about making sure that clients are aware of the limitations of Pool Re cover when it comes to business interruption.
Many business owners were stung following the June terror attack in London Bridge, when they discovered that Pool Re coverage would not extend to business interruption for the period in which they were unable to access their premises due to a police cordon.
Beech Underwriting, which does offer non-damage denial of access coverage, saw around a 30% increase in enquiries following the attack.
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